Letters to Bruno
by xBrokenStars
Summary: Bruno and his friend Eva, living in Germany, write to each other. This was for a language assignment, but I decided to make it have a backstory (which is where the first two letters came in).
1. Chapter 1

Dear Bruno,

I hope you are doing all right. I have not heard from you in a while. Last time we spoke, you were worried about moving. How have you adjusted to life there? A lot has changed in the past few months.

My father still has his job as a doctor. My mother does not have her old job as a teacher. She is now a housewife, occupying much of her time by cleaning the house, cooking, knitting, and sometimes socializing with her friends. It is quite different than when she used to work at my school. She has more free time, while it seems like my father is working overtime often. Women are not expected to work here. There are many rules for women, and soon I will be old enough that they will be expected of me. Some such rules are that women are not expected to wear makeup or trousers. They are not allowed to dye or perm their hair. They are only allowed to wear flat shoes. Also, women are being discouraged from being slim because it could cause problems in pregnancy. They are discouraged from smoking, not only because it is linked to pregnancy problems, but because it is not a German idea.

I think the government is being very controlling with these rules, but I can not say anything about what I think. I am only a child to them, with no thoughts of my own. I am just supposed to accept everything that adults say as fact. In school we are taught that there are many different groups of people in the world, and that many are inferior. The Jews especially seem to be terrible. Only, I don't see why. In the middle of class I raised my hand and asked, "What did the Jews ever do wrong?" Everyone stared at me, their mouths hanging open as if to say, 'why would you ask such a question?' I slid down in my seat from shame because I felt so stupid. I still didn't see what was wrong.

From my house I can see the train. More and more people seem to board it every day. I wonder where they are going. Is it possible that they are escaping the war? No, I do not think so. Once I asked my father and he only shook his head with a grimace and whispered, "Those poor people." I decided to leave the subject alone then.

Everyone is growing weary of the war. The soldiers, who looked sharp in their nice new uniforms a few years ago, have become progressively exhausted. They march through the cities, almost resembling zombies with their pale faces, placid expressions, and tired eyes. I too, am sick of it. All the soldiers, all the gunfire, all the cries for help. There are raids in the middle of the night- the ones that wake me up and I must peer out the curtain covering my window to see what on earth is going on. A mother clings to her child as the little girl is torn away from her mother. The father tries to fight the soldiers, but he is no match for them with their steel toed boots and rifles. He is kicked to the ground, coughing in the dust around him. I silently watch through the window with a horrified expression. The family is marched down the street, their wrists held tightly by soldiers. They separate the father and the mother from their children just for the cruelty of it. Their cries and screams haunt me all night. 'What did these people ever to do deserve this?' was all I could think.

I'm sorry to go off onto such a dark topic, Bruno. It's just that this has been what I've been thinking about. I hope the war ends soon. I also hope that you made some friends and are happy in your new home. Write me back as soon as you can!

Your friend,

****Eva


	2. Chapter 2

Dear Eva,

Hello! I miss talking to you in Berlin. There is a lot I miss in Berlin. Remember when we would walk home from school and see all the people rushing about with their busy lives? As we walked past the shops, the owners would wave to us through the window. They knew our parents from all the time they had stopped to buy food or other goods there. I like the sense of community back in Berlin- a small town feeling, in what is actually a big city. Everyone knows everyone else, and you have nice neighbors. You say that the war has made everyone weary. It sounds like a very different place than I remember. I am glad that I remember the good parts of life there.

Here, in Out-With (that is what Gretel calls our new home), everything is so much different than in Berlin. When we first arrived, what I noticed was the lack of people. It seemed somewhat deserted. The house stood all alone; there were no other houses to be seen nearby. Also, the new house has only three floors instead of five. It certainly is a change from my real home. I suppose I have gotten used to living in this lonesome place. The worst thing about it, in my opinion, is that it seems like a place where there would be no happiness. I remember in Berlin, there were always people rushing around and chatting with each other. I don't know what it is- but here I feel as if there would be no friendly chatting. That's what it is- it just feels cold. Eva, I don't know how to explain it. I don't have a good feeling about this.

I have a question for you. Once, I was with Maria (you remember her, the maid) and she started talking about how Father was such a good man, and had been so nice to her. "He has a lot of kindness in his soul, which makes me wonder..." she then trailed off and did not finish what she was going to say. I wonder what she would have said. She seemed to imply that he was not always kind. Father is always kind to me. He tells me he is proud to have me as a son, and he doesn't lose his temper at me, even when I am to blame for something. I love Father. I don't understand some of the things he does, though.

I'll give you an example. Recently, I saw several soldiers on the other side of the fence beating some of the people wearing striped pajamas. It was a terrible sight to watch. I had to turn away after watching for a few minutes because I couldn't stand it any longer. Then I found Father, walking through the hallway leading to his office. "Why are those people in the striped pajamas being beaten?" I asked innocently. "Bruno," he answered, "Those are not people at all. They are less than people. For now, don't worry about them. They will go away eventually." Still not satisfied with this answer, I nodded and pondered about this as I went back to my room. As I sat on my bed thinking about his answer, I realized something- Shmuel could have been one of those people beaing beaten. He was one of them. What exactly did Father mean by 'they will go away eventually'? Whatever he meant, it didn't sound good. Was he actually planning to... kill them? After all, he didn't seem to care if they were hurt by the soldiers. This must be his plan, I figured, but why? What ever did the people like Shmuel's family do to deserve this treatment? Oh, well I suppose that explains the case of Pavel (our waiter). When Lieutenant Kotler (one of Father's soldiers) was mad at him and hurt him, no one did anything to stop him. It made me cry, because there was nothing I could do about it. It was unfair. Pavel never did anything wrong. Yet he was still treated as 'less than'. I wonder what it is that makes them so different from us. Gretel tried to explain to me once, how we and the Jews are so very different, but the only thing I can see that separates us is the fence.

My question is this: how can someone who is a good father do bad things? I hope you can help me answer this question and understand.

Your friend,

Bruno


	3. Chapter 3

Dear Bruno,

It is good to hear from you. In your letter you mentioned not liking your new house. I think you'll adjust to it. It is hard to move somewhere new and feel at home. I hope you end up liking your new house.

Now to answer your question: how can a good father do bad things? First, I want you to know that everyone does bad things. No one is perfect. Your father does both good and bad things. He is a good father to you, but his job is not good.

Your father loves you. He says he is proud of you, he talks to you, and he gives you books you like to read. Yet this is the same man who tells his soldiers to put people in camps with terrible living conditions, and he stands by when the people are beaten.

I don't know if you and your family are religious, but my family believes in Christianity. I looked up some verses in the Bible that are relevant to the subject of this letter. In Proverbs 22:6, the Bible says this, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Father should show you through his actions how to treat others. Now, he is teaching you to treat the Jews as if they are not people at all. He needs to show kindness to both you and to others. If he does not do this, you will probably follow in his ways.

Why does Father do this? My explanation is that your father might have been brainwashed. He simply might not know any better. He loves you because you are his son and he cares about you. As for the Jews, he has been taught that they are not considered people- they are a lower level of society. Someone has taught him to hate all Jews. This could be his family, or his friends, or the Germans. Also, even if he does not believe in discriminating against them, there are reasons he could choose to. If he chooses to hate the Jews, he could become an respected figure in the war, and have enough money to support his children. If he hadn't, you would most likely have to live in a place where there was fear of the Germans taking over. Your family would not have much money, and Father would be just another citizen instead of someone of importance. He might simply want the best for him and his family, so he chose to side with the Germans.

As Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Your father should not make his own decisions, but trust in God to help him. God will

These are just my thoughts on the subject. There is no specific answer to your question, but I think this is a reasonable answer. Writing this really made me think about why someone would do this. Thank you for letting me answer your question. I hope this helps, Bruno.

Your friend,

Eva


End file.
